"Nothing short of an aroused public can change things; nothing less than democracy is at stake." - Bill Moyers

August 11, 2007

'Yes, We're Incompetent. WANNA MAKE SOMETHING OF IT?'

Heard on NPR News:A spokesman for the drilling team that is trying to free the miners in Huntington Canyon, Utah actually said, in front of a live mike and numerous reporters, "Everything we're doing is going exactly according to schedule-- but not fast enough."Huh?Doesn't this beg the question, "Might you have scheduled things to go a bit faster, then?"

Does this statement suggest that the hole they drilled earlier-- you know, the one that strayed 40 feet off course, --was part of the original plan?

hey, larry--I hadn't heard about all that.and -- acting like he's digging??? is the man mad? does he think people believe he's shoveling through thousands of pounds of rock and shale with his bare hands?maybe there ARE still people around who believe if it's on camera, it's true.^^^maybe, TC--for sure it went to the lowest bidder or the one with who offered the biggest kickbacks or a crony.

I wondered about that myself, larry. The guy was on TV insisting that the whole thing was caused by an earthquake and it seemed he was pushing that information a bit hard. I wonder what he's been hiding..what violations that could have been the real cause of this? It's like he's saying, "Don't investigate me...it was the earthquake that did it!"

the mine owner throws in the earthquake statement whenever he can. It is unproven and an excuse. The poor guy lost his voice, talking too much crap I guess. There were over 300 violations against the mine and the people doing the rescue including the owner seem a bit inept. What amazes me after seeing those low cramped tunnels they willingly go down into knowing the dangers is what people will do to earn a living. Ungelievable!

I am cm and not inch sort of a person so my figures might be wrong, but what I hear, they first drilled 6 inch hole to reach the poor miners. This turns out to be useless for the purpose of delivering food, water and oxygen so, apparently, they are now drilling the hole twice the diameter.

The thing that bothers me about Katrina is that it was allowed to happen. He said he couldn't put troops in harms way by predisopsitioning them but then he did it for his State. That scum and others allowed nature to do what they could not and that is to get rid of all the poor and public housing. Now they are rebuilding for the wealthy and affluent and only enough of the lower class will be back to service New Orlean's economy. Bush visited the bridge disaster too for another photo op. He promised a quick response like he gave Katrina. Man! it might be okay if the feds give money but leave the work up to the State and not the corrupt, no oversight, Feds.

As I recall, the mining procedure they have been using at that place ("checkerboarding") involves excavating large areas and leaving the roof propped up with pillars of unstable material, in this case coal! Then, with heavy equipment, miners remove the pillars to get the coal, collapsing the roof behind them as they move on. Sounds pretty dangerous to me. My memory is bad, but I also seem to recall that after another mining disaster in recent years, "checkerboarding" was no longer recommended, due to safety concerns.

Hearing the mine's CEO blathering endlessly is amazing and agonizing. I'm sure he believes he needs to put a positive spin on things, knowing that if these miners don't survive, he could lose millions of dollars. When I first heard him blabbering, the words "snake oil" popped into my mind. He seems desperate to save his own hide, and he will say what he thinks he needs to say to save it.

and Snave--my guess is that your first impression was correct. his advisers probably got to him-- told him he was sounding arrogant and self-serving and he'd better start sounding contrite in order to 'save his own hide' as you say.

in any case, even if his current emotion is real -- the time to have cared was BEFORE the mine caved in.

and another to AAP--NOT PUT TROOPS IN HARM'S WAY!!!??!!!the man is mad.it serves HIM well enough to put them in harm's way in Iraq.and it served HIM to keep them away from NOLA and the rest of the gulf coast.pure and simple.